MORE people are getting access to an NHS dentist, according to a new survey.

But the proportion of people seeing an NHS dentist remains below the figure in March 2006, when the Government reforms to dental contracts came in.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair famously pledged everyone who wanted an NHS dentist would get one by 2001, but the promise is not now expected to be fulfilled until March next year – a decade later.

In Kirklees, the number registered with NHS dental practices has risen to 43,000 – 2,000 more than in 2007 when the last full survey was completed.

Across Yorkshire, more than three million people were treated by an NHS dentist in the two years to December, more than 75,000 more than when the contract was introduced, but the figures mask significant variations.

There are areas where the numbers able to register have dropped. They include North Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, Leeds and the East Riding.

Overall in England, 28.2 million patients saw an NHS dentist in the two years prior to December – up 18,000 on the number in the two years to March 2006.

Yorkshire dentist Susie Sanderson, chairman of the British Dental Association’s executive board, said: “Challenges remain. There are still people who would like to see an NHS dentist who cannot do so.”

Health minister Ann Keen said: “There are now nearly 1,200 more dentists working in the NHS than two years ago.”